This 5-Minute Ajo Verde Dip Will Make All Your Summer Tomatoes Better
A dairy-free dip that’s creamy, garlicky, vinegar-y, herbal, and was born to be paired with all your summer tomato things.
Allow me to introduce you to ajo verde. She’s just a basil-ized version of ajo blanco - a garlicky, vinegar-y, creamy, dairy-free, moreish almond-based soup that people sometimes make into a dip.
It’s the consistency of a velvety Greek yogurt and pairs well with vegetables and cheese boards, but I could also put it with some fish or chicken and be very pleased. Swooping crusty sourdough through it is also recommended.
Like everyone else in the northern hemisphere this time of year, I was craving fresh tomatoes and basil, but I wasn’t crazy about the usual combinations. Caprese salad, while a classic, bores me. It’s been done and then done again. Plus, good mozzarella is expensive! Your girl is cooking on a budget these days.
What I decided to do instead was add a handful of fresh basil to ajo blanco, infusing the tangy almond dip with basil’s verdant sweetness.
Tomatoes and red jalapeños, still warm from the sun, were tossed with thinly sliced white onion, olive oil, Maldon salt, and lemon juice, then topped with mint, parsley, lemon zest, and anchovy breadcrumbs. Caprese, who?
Ajo Verde
Ingredients:
1 cup blanched almonds
1 cup fresh packed basil
1 cup water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
4 to 5 cloves of garlic
Kosher salt
Instructions:
Blanch almonds by boiling them in water for no more than 60 seconds. The skins should pop off easily when pinched. Careful, they’re slippery. Before you know it, you’ll have blanched almonds ricocheting off the far wall.
Place almonds, basil, garlic, water, extra virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt in a blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes or until it’s the consistency of Greek yogurt.
Note: it has to be a blender. A food processor will yield chunky results - not what we’re after.
